Things My Parents Taught Me, 10-30-14

During our return flight from Ireland a few days ago Becky and I spent time reflecting on the various paths we've traveled during our forty-three years of marriage and speculating on how our deceased grandparents might have reacted had they lived to witness the ministries to which the Lord has summoned us.

We remembered that they lived in seemingly simpler times when congregations were locally focused and small; stores and everything else were closed on Sundays; travel was an ordeal to be avoided; parents, teachers and policemen were respected; manners were the norm and "no" meant "no"; education beyond grade school was a luxury few could afford - they couldn't; work was honorable, laziness was not; babies were born at home and the dead were laid out there as well; life spans were short and families were the heartbeat of society . . . three cheers for such simpler times!

We remembered, too, that their love for us knew no bounds. They circled us in prayers as passionate as their hugs and looked at us with eyes attuned to see far beyond the present into that special future where grandparents' hopes and dreams are realized.

Our grandparents may have lived in simpler times but they were not simple people; they were wise, wise in ways that Becky and I didn't begin to fully grasp and appreciate until we became parents. You see, it was then that we began to appreciate the legacy our grandparents had left in our parents for they were wise indeed! How wise? Share the next three Tuesday evenings with me on the Cross Schools Campus and find out as I unpack their homespun, Biblically-rooted wisdom in "Things My Parents Taught Me." Supper for those interested (6:15pm-6:45pm; individuals $5/families $10) will be followed by my teaching (6:45pm-7:45pm); a special program will be offered for children and nursery care will be provided. Please use this program as an opportunity to invite unchurched friends and neighbors - Each One Reach One That None Should Be Lost.